WoodTrust Financial Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

WoodTrust Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 97,027 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,318 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its stake in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $99,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Melius Research set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.13.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $273.68 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target to $340 and kept an “outperform” rating — a sizable upside vs. the current stock level that supports bullish analyst momentum for AAPL.
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein’s Mark Newman says a strong iPhone 17 cycle is driving better‑than‑expected revenue and helped the firm hike its price target. Strong iPhone 17 cycle giving better than expected revenue, says Bernstein’s Mark Newman
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed surging revenue and free-cash-flow margins, prompting some analysts and options traders to lift targets and consider bullish option strategies — a direct fundamental tailwind for valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Media and commentators note Apple’s conservative approach to AI capex (avoiding huge data‑center spending) as a profit-preserving advantage versus hyperscalers, reinforcing margin resilience. Jim Cramer on Apple (AAPL): “Doesn’t Hurt That They’ve Avoided Spending Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on Data Centers”
• Positive Sentiment: Supply-chain checks suggest a “solid outlook” for Apple components and inventory, which supports near‑term revenue visibility. Apple in focus as GF says supply chain survey suggests ‘solid outlook’
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google agreed to app‑store changes to satisfy the UK regulator — this reduces regulatory overhang in that market but is incremental to global revenue. Apple and Google agree app store changes to appease UK regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data for Feb. 10 appears to be erroneous (shows zero shares and NaN change) — not a meaningful signal for shares today.
• Neutral Sentiment: High‑profile investors (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund) including Apple in a contrarian AI exposure list provides some institutional endorsement but is not a catalyst by itself. Thiel Bypasses Palantir and Nvidia for Meta, Tesla, Apple in Contrarian AI Play
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces raise caution: some investors warn the Magnificent 7 (including AAPL) could underperform amid rising capex and rotation risks, which can pressure multiples. Why This Investor Thinks Magnificent 7 Stocks May Underperform This Year
• Negative Sentiment: Questions persist in the press about Apple’s AI positioning and whether it may be falling behind peers — any signs of execution gaps on AI could weigh on sentiment and multiples. Is Apple Falling Behind in Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Here’s What CEO Tim Cook Just Said.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.